


Soft and Sweet

by foggys_cupcake_girl



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Body Image, Cinnamon Roll Credence Barebone, Cinnamon Roll Original Percival Graves, Coffee Shops, Credence is a CEO, First Dates, First Kiss, First Time, Happy Credence Barebone, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mutual Pining, Original Percival Graves is a Softie, Percy and Cree both think they aren't good enough for each other, Percy is the coffee barista, Role Reversal, Self Confidence Issues, Smitten Original Percival Graves, Sort Of, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff, because they are both dumbasses, seriously y'all this is capital-S SOFT
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-18 17:28:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29372364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foggys_cupcake_girl/pseuds/foggys_cupcake_girl
Summary: Credence Barebone, the awkward young CEO of popular website PolitiPups, has a tiny problem called he's in love with the man who makes his coffee. Percy Graves, second-time-around nursing student and ex-cop-turned-barista, has a tiny problem called he's in love with a regular.The bigger problem is that neither one of them knows about the other's feelings, and each thinks they aren't good enough for the other. But it's Valentine's Day, and if there's ever the right moment to confess a secret crush, well, isn't that it?(Or: I wanted to write coffeeshop fluff, so I did and I feel no shame about it XD )
Relationships: Credence Barebone/Original Percival Graves
Comments: 8
Kudos: 19





	Soft and Sweet

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all ^_^ Back with some fluffy coffeeshop cuteness because it's almost V-day and why not, right? ;)
> 
> Just a note, while this is 99% fluff, there are some brief trigger-y mentions of homophobia and, of course because it's Credence, child abuse of the physical and religious variety. It's very quick, all in flashback, and nothing graphic is described, but it's there, so just a heads-up. <3
> 
> Other than that, enjoy the fluffiness! ^_^
> 
>   
> 

Credence knew it wasn’t healthy, but he was craving caffeine so badly he thought he may well die without it. He’d had a long,  _ long _ flight yesterday, coming from L.A. back home to Detroit, and he just wanted some coffee and sympathy. And there was only one place he knew of where he could get both.

He walked into his favorite coffee shop, the Scamander Coffee House, and immediately sighed in relief as the smell of freshly brewed coffee washed over him in a soothing wave. Just what he needed after a long and painfully boring business trip: a taste of home.

Credence loved his job, but it was stressful to essentially be a CEO at twenty-five. He’d started a Twitter account a few years back, just to mess around and have fun during college, when he’d snagged a photo of his parents’ dog chewing a George Bush sign. He’d posted it with a funny caption and, one thing leading to another, PolitiPups became a viral sensation, complete with memes, merchandise (all of it, at the time, designed and made by Credence and his roommate Harry), and eventual celebrity endorsements that left his head spinning.

He’d eventually ended up dropping out of college to run the website full-time, and now PolitiPups LLC was a legitimate company. He had an  _ assistant, _ and a  _ publicist, _ and he had people sending him  _ fan mail. _ Even after four years of such treatment Credence still wasn’t used to it, and whenever he came back home after a business trip (and messy as the weather was, negative connotation as there might be with his city, Detroit, Michigan still  _ very much _ was his home) he tried to just…be normal. Just for a little while.

So: Scamander Coffee House. He loved this place. Loved the homey atmosphere, the quality baked goods, the fact that the staff seemed more like a family than a bunch of people behind a counter. And most of all he loved the coffee, especially the praline lattes that had put the SCH on the map. Brown sugar and pecan might seem like odd flavors to put in coffee, but damn, it was addictive.

The coffee house had a pick-your-own reusable mug system, so Credence snagged one off the tree by the door and waited in the short line until he got up to the front and found…oh, lord…Percy Graves, aka the single most attractive human male in the history of forever, was working the counter today. Credence swallowed, squared his shoulders, and walked right up to Percy’s register, puppy eyes at the ready.

When Percy saw him, he sighed and rolled his eyes. “Oh no,” he said with a grin.

Credence pouted as he held out his cup. “Please, please please?”

“How many cups have you had today?”

“None,” Credence insisted.

“Plus?” Percy prompted him with raised eyebrows.

“Five,” Credence admitted reluctantly, and then quickly added, “but none of those coffees were praline lattes, so that totally doesn’t count, right?”

Percy sighed again, but he took the cup anyway and tied a little tag with Credence’s name and order around the handle. “Junkie,” he accused Credence with a knowing smirk.

“Angel,” Credence said without thinking, and then blushed when Percy looked at him, once again, with his eyebrows cocked in a  _ really? _ expression. But he didn’t back down. “You’ve got wings. Seriously. It’s been a nightmare of a week. I’ve been dreaming about your coffee and Jacob’s food.”

“Didn’t enjoy LA, huh?” Percy said as he rang up Credence’s order. He didn’t have to ask what size, how much whipped cream, any of it. He knew. Credence was a regular and Percy served him more often than not.

“Not a bit. I spent half the week jet-lagged and the other half fighting off heatstroke.”

Percy made a sympathetic face. “Poor baby. Not a fan of the heat?”

“Not in February. It’s  _ supposed _ to be cold and snowy.” Credence gestured towards the windows, where snow was building up on the windowsills. “That’s good weather for like. Skating. And cuddling. And drinking hot chocolate while staring out the window and feeling all soft and warm inside…I definitely wasn’t doing any of that in LA.”

“What, cuddling?” Percy teased him, and Credence blushed again. “You weren’t out there wooing all the ladies and half the gentlemen with your dog pictures and your plucky baby CEO charm?”

“Hardly,” Credence snorted. “Too busy trying not to fall asleep in meetings.” 

Since there was no one behind him in line, he took a peek at the bakery display case. It was all decorated for Valentine’s Day, red doilies lining the shelves and pink glitter heart clings around the edge of the window, and most of the cupcakes seemed to have a Valentine’s theme as well. Credence saw the standards: red velvet, triple chocolate, white chocolate raspberry…and then he saw the signature flavors, the ones that, like the unique lattes, had made a name for the Scamander Coffee House. Pepperoni pizza, strawberry sundae, and a maple bacon one that made Credence’s mouth water.

Percy saw him looking. “Oh yeah. We got some new flavors in this month. Newt thought we needed to freshen things up a bit.” He reached down and, somehow knowing exactly where Credence was looking, scooped out a maple bacon one and put it on a heart-shaped plate. “On the house,” he said, and pushed back far too much change when Credence tried to pay. “Please, love, I insist,” he added, cutting off Credence’s attempts to protest. “You practically live here. A free cupcake now and then won’t hurt anyone.”

“But…” Credence suddenly felt a flash of guilt. He was very aware of his privilege; he could get cupcakes any time he wanted and he was still, after only three years of doing this, rather new to the idea of actually  _ having money. _

Percy stared him down, and at the sight of the beautiful, warm caramel eyes arranged into a puppy look of their own, Credence melted. “I insist,” Percy repeated gently, pushing the cupcake towards him. “You work so hard. You deserve a treat now and then.”

Credence felt something flutter in his belly. “All right then,” he murmured, a little dazed by the intensity of Percy’s stare. Percy really did have the  _ nicest _ eyes, he thought dreamily as he stuffed far too much cash into the tip jar. 

He retreated to his favorite table, just a few places away from the counter where he had a pretty good view of the action. He loved to sit and just watch, and all right, he loved to sit and watch  _ more _ when Percy was at the counter. Credence pulled out his laptop and pretended to be working, but really, he just kept sneaking looks up at the counter, specifically at his favorite barista. He ate the maple bacon cupcake, and it was delicious like everything Jacob designed, but somehow this one tasted all the sweeter just because Percy had given it to him.

Percy didn’t look up no matter how many times Credence secretly willed him to. Not that he wanted to get caught looking—if Percy didn’t like him, that’d be embarrassing—but because he wanted Percy to want to look at him too. He watched Percy fill the ice machine, watched him smoothly charm brusque businessmen into buying extra muffins and cookies, watched him make a few drinks for the people at the take-out window. Once Percy looked in his direction and Credence quickly looked away…but it turned out Percy was just looking out the window at a RV that pulled up. Not so exciting after all. Credence pouted and went back to his laptop.

The next time Credence looked up he had to bite his tongue to keep from squeeing. Percy was just biting into a red velvet cupcake and oh, it just wasn’t fair, even the way he  _ ate _ was adorable. Credence couldn’t stop staring as the man licked the cream-cheese frosting off his fingers, missing the streak smeared just over the dimple in his cute little chipmunk cheek.  _ That is so damn precious, _ Credence thought as he watched Percy take another bite. Percy’s eyes closed in bliss as he savored the treat, and when the tip of his pink tongue darted out to lick frosting off the heart-shaped pout of his mouth, Credence’s stomach erupted in butterflies.

_ He’s so beautiful, _ he thought, a little longingly. Why was it so hard for Credence to just  _ tell _ the handsome older man how much he liked him? Why couldn’t he just give Percy his number, it wasn’t like they were strangers…but no, he thought with a sigh. No, Percy wouldn’t want him. Percy, Credence knew, had left the police force at thirty-three to go back to school to become a nurse. That was far,  _ far _ more impressive, he thought, than striking accidental gold and dropping out of college to run a Twitter account about funny dogs.

Newt Scamander chose that moment to sweep out of the back room with a clipboard in hand. When his eyes landed on Percy he scowled. “Oh for heaven’s sake, Graves! Again?” he protested, and Percy, his face suddenly bright pink, stuffed the rest of the cupcake into his mouth and tried (and failed) to project an expression of wide-eyed innocence, which  _ might _ have worked had his already-plump cheeks not been puffed out with cupcake. “Oh, don’t bother, I already saw and you have frosting on your face,” Newt scolded him. “Eating the merchandise? And in front of the customers no less. Really, can you  _ try _ to control yourself?”

Nagini chuckled as she passed by with a pitcher of frothy steamed milk. “Now Mr. Newt, you can’t blame him, really,” she told her boss. “I mean, it  _ is _ one of Jacob’s cupcakes and we all know they’re to die for.”

“Call me  _ Mr. _ again and you’re fired,” Newt warned her in a tone so fond it carried absolutely no threat whatsoever.

Nagini pretended she would throw the steaming milk at him. “I’m not afraid to use this,  _ Mr. Newt,” _ she said with a grin.

Newt rolled his eyes, while Nagini skipped off with her milk to finish making a customer’s drink. He looked back to Percy and said with a sigh, “You know I should write you up for that.”

Percy shrugged. “I deserve it,” he said with a little grin. “So, are you going to do it, then?” Keeping eye contact with Newt, he picked up a pepperoni pizza cupcake and—Credence’s heart nearly stopped—used his tongue to scoop off a piece of candied pepperoni. “I mean, you have hardcore evidence, right here,” he added, licking a bit of meringue frosting off the wrapper. “And witnesses too.”

Credence found himself on his feet, heading towards the counter as Newt glared at him. “You stop that right now,” Newt commanded. “This is completely unprofessional! If Theseus were here—”

“Well, he’s not,” Percy said, and bit into the cupcake in such a fashion that left his mouth almost entirely covered in frosting. Credence had to stop in place, his heart fluttering, as Percy licked his lips so seductively that it could’ve stopped traffic. “Mmm. And I’m not sorry, either.”

“You should be,” Newt said, and Percy just smirked at him and finished off his cupcake. “You keep sneaking cupcakes and that ‘freshman fifteen’ is going to turn into a ‘freshman forty,” Newt insisted, as he gave Percy’s belly a poke.

Percy swatted his hand away. “You do know I only have three semesters left, don’t you?”

“You do know I’m right, don’t you?” Newt shot back, mocking his tone, but there was a smile teasing the corners of his mouth. “Really, what would your mates at the precinct say if they saw their tough Punisher-esque cop had turned into a Santa-bellied cupcake thief?”

Percy’s face turned bright red, his eyes immediately dropping to the floor. “I don’t—I’m not  _ that _ fat, am I?” he murmured, so quiet that Credence had to strain to hear.

Immediately Newt’s face softened, and he gave Percy’s arm a comforting stroke. “Not fat at all, darling. I’m just teasing,” he said reassuringly.

At the exact same time Credence braced himself on the counter and blurted out, “I think you’re ridiculously hot and I’ve been in love with you for months.”

There. It was out. For a moment his heart took up residence in his throat. This was it. If Percy told him no, well, he’d have to find another coffee shop (and a large bucket of ice cream in which to cry for about a week) but at least he’d managed to put himself out there. 

_ Please, please let him want me, _ he prayed silently for the few seconds that felt like an hour as the words hung in the air.  _ I’m just a lucky idiot who got an idea that magically spawned a career, I don’t even have a college degree and here you are working so hard to make yourself better, build yourself a real life…but please, Percy, please like me the way I like you. _

Newt and Percy both looked up in surprise, Newt with a face that suggested his favorite movie had just come on TV and Percy with one that suggested he’d just been knocked on the head. Percy made an ineffectual sputtering noise twice before he finally managed to say, “Come again?”

Credence locked his eyes on Percy and said, “I want to go out with you.”

Newt let out a soft chuckle as Percy flailed. “Oh, this is better than Netflix,” he murmured, and then when all Percy could get out was a mumbled  _ ungh _ he said, a little louder, “Well, don’t leave the poor guy hanging, Perce. What do you think? You like him? Actually no, I know you do. Unless eating cupcakes with bedroom eyes was for my benefit, which given that you know I’m straight and married seems highly unlikely.”

Percy choked on his tongue. “Ahhh…no?” he managed to squeak out, and now Credence, realizing that he well and truly had the upper hand here, had to fight back a laugh. Giddy joy flooded him as it sank in:  _ Percy likes me. _

“C’mon,” he said coaxingly, and Percy turned wild deer-in-headlights eyes on him. “I just want to take you out tonight. Please?”

Percy still looked as if he’d just been struck by lightning. Newt laughed, and then laid a gentle hand on Percy’s shoulder and said, “He did say  _ please, _ Percy. Now, can you really say no to that?”

Percy cleared his throat, swallowed a few times, and finally stammered, “I, ah—I get off at—at four-thirty.”

“Well, then…” Credence patiently gave Percy another few seconds before he prompted, “Is that a yes?”

Percy breathed out an astonished laugh and then nodded slowly. “Yeah. Yeah, it’s definitely a yes.”

_ Definitely a yes. _ Those three words, Credence decided as his heart fluttered in his chest like a trapped faerie, were his favorite in the English language.

~

Since it was in fact Valentine’s Day, Credence had to get creative when it came to date ideas. Every decent restaurant was booked up, and Credence could cook decently enough but he wanted something a lot more special than a chicken roast followed by Netflix & chill.

But one doesn’t become a CEO at 21 without a little creativity. So when he went to get Percy from the coffee shop (in a company car, because Credence could be classy when the situation demanded, damn it) he felt confident when he said, “I think you’re going to really have fun tonight.”

Percy looked at him through shy eyes, a tiny smile curving the edges of those soft lips Credence loved so much. “I’m sure I will. I’ll be with you, won’t I?”

“Oh, stop. You’ll inflate my ego.” Credence bit his lip and then, hoping it wouldn’t be misinterpreted, pulled a Forever 21 bag out from under the seat in front of him. “I thought you might like to change out of your work uniform. I had to guess your size, so…”

Percy looked surprised, then a little  _ oh _ slipped out as he reached in the bag and pulled out the soft black textured-knit sweater and deliberately-distressed jeans. “Comfy,” he observed with a smile. “So wherever we’re going is casual, then.”

“Wait and see,” Credence said, trying to sound mysterious…and, judging by the heart-fluttering giggle that Percy let out, failing miserably.

But when they pulled up to the Campus Martius ice rink, Percy let out an actual little squeal of delight and Credence had to tease him about it, it was just too cute, a grown man squeaking like a 6-year-old at the prospect of ice skating. He got out of the car first so Percy could change, almost melted through the ground at the sight of Percy in clothes Credence had bought for him (okay, so maybe he had a little possessive streak) and then linked their arms together as they went into the rink.

Skating with Percy turned out to be hilarious. Neither one of them was very good at it, which meant, to Credence’s absolute, unadulterated joy, that they had every excuse to hold hands and clutch at each other as they meandered around the rink. Credence fared slightly better than Percy, who oscillated wildly between “Bambi’s first time on the ice” and “Marv from  _ Home Alone _ right before he crashed into Kevin’s paint-can trap.” It was bizarrely endearing.

“Oh my God, you’re a menace to society,” Credence laughed the third time Percy ran into the wall and nearly took Credence with him. “We’ve been on the ice for an hour now, how do you still not know how to stop?”

“I just did,” Percy rightly pointed out, referring to his run-in with the wall.

Credence chuckled and guided him back to open ice. “Here, let’s try not to have any more collisions, okay? There are civilians here,” he teased.

It was funny, really, how comfortable things were between them. Credence had definitely had his share of first dates, but they usually weren’t this natural, this  _ easy. _ But then, he knew Percy, didn’t he? Maybe he only knew him on a surface level, as the nice nursing student who made his coffee; maybe Percy only knew him as the nice regular who always overtipped. All that mattered now was that Percy seemed to want the same thing Credence did: to get to know each other beyond that.

“Can I ask you something?” he asked a few minutes later, when they’d found their rhythm and were skating arm-in-arm again, safely away from any walls. “Why nursing? I mean, was it just the money? Job security? Or was it…I don’t know. More than that?”

Percy hesitated a moment, and Credence felt the hand in the crook of his arm tighten, just a little. “Uhh. It’s kind of a pathetic story,” Percy said carefully. “But if you really want to know…”

“Only if you’re comfortable telling me.”

“Seriously, it’s dumb.”

“Seriously, Percy, I run a Twitter account where people submit photos of their dogs peeing on Trump merchandise. I promise, I have  _ zero _ reason to judge.”

Percy chuckled a little and squeezed his arm again. “Well. You’ve got me there.” He tripped over a hole in the ice and waited for Credence to help steady him before he sighed and said, “Well, uh. You ever had a bad breakup? I’m talking really bad, like, Harley Quinn in  _ Birds of Prey _ kind of bad.”

“Ooh.” Credence winced a little. “This does not sound like a happy story.”

“Right. Yeah.” Credence turned his head just in time to see Percy biting a very red lip. It was awfully cold out, and Credence was just on the verge of asking if Percy wanted to go inside when Percy sighed again and continued, “So, that’s pretty much how it starts. I was with someone for almost seven years. And I thought that was it, we’d be together forever. But he left me, the same week that some dickhead outed me at the precinct.” Percy winced a little and Credence hummed in sympathy; he knew how it felt to be outed against his wishes. “They didn’t fire me, exactly, but the guys at the station made it hell on me and I just didn’t want to deal with all their crap, you know?”

Credence remembered the torment of the kids at his Christian school in New York, the way his mother had carefully bandaged the lashes she left on his back in an effort to “beat the sin” out of him. He recalled how many of his teachers had looked the other way while his classmates called him names and stole his lunch or his textbooks, how painful it had been to realize just how alone he really was if he couldn’t be what they all wanted. “I know,” he said quietly.

Something in his tone seemed to let Percy know that, yes, he understood, because Percy squeezed his arm with both hands (and almost fell down again) before he went on, “Anyway, it was a horrible time and I basically figured, well, I can go on a bender or I can channel all this, you know, disappointment and rage into something constructive.”

“Very sensible.”

“I thought so,” Percy agreed with a little self-deprecating chuckle. “Didn’t really think, actually. Just picked the first thing that looked good. I figured, well, I didn’t suck at science—you know, I actually kind of wanted to do forensic science and be an investigator, not a street cop, when I was in school the first time around—so I thought, you know, why not? I started out going for a second degree in microbiology, took an anatomy class, and my instructor was like, no, actually, you should do nursing. Thought she was full of shit at first,” he said with another laugh, shaking his head, “but I took pathophysiology and I just fell in love.”

_ I know the feeling, _ Credence thought, butterflies swarming in his belly as Percy turned to him with eager eyes. His whole face screamed  _ please understand, _ and Credence felt a little flutter of pleasure at the thought that Percy wanted to be understood, to be  _ seen, _ by him. “You’re almost done now, right? Bet that feels good.”

“Yeah. Three semesters, including this one. I’ll be done in December.” Percy leaned into Credence a little and let out a contented little sigh. “Mmm. You’re warm.”

“Oh, are you too cold?” Campus Martius was an outdoor rink, and Credence suddenly felt bad; he should’ve considered that Percy might not like being outside for so long. “We can go back if—”

“No, no. This is nice. I like having an excuse to be close to you,” Percy assured him, and Credence looked at him just in time to see his already-pink cheeks flush a little deeper. “That…did not come out at all how I wanted.”

“Okay, be honest,” Credence said suddenly, his heart going a little faster at the thought of the risk he was about to take, “were you ever going to say something? About this, I mean. About…”

“Us?” Percy supplied, and Credence nodded. “Honestly? I don’t know. I didn’t know you…I mean. You know. Asking out a customer, that can get dicey, and it’s not like you were obvious.”

Oh. Well, that was good to know; Credence had worried that all his longing stares had verged on  _ creeper _ territory. “I thought I was kind of obvious,” was all he said.

“Well, you weren’t, and…” Percy hesitated again before asking in a rush, “Why me, then? And why now?”

Oh, they were  _ here _ already, were they. “I…I’m kind of terrible at this stuff. Dating, I mean,” Credence admitted. “It’s not like I had a lot of practice as a kid, you know? I mean…for a long time I had it drilled into my head that being the way I am is, like, a fate worse than death.”

Percy winced and nodded. “Yeah, don’t I know how that goes,” he said sympathetically. “But it’s not,” he added suddenly, and stopped moving his feet so that Credence was forced to slow down too. He pulled them both off towards the center of the rink, out of the path of other skaters, took both of Credence’s hands, and made Credence face him so they could look each other in the eye. “You know that now, right? Like. You know there’s nothing wrong with this?”

He squeezed Credence’s hands tight, and all Credence could think was that if this was wrong, he sure as hell didn’t want to be right. “I’ve known for a while now that it’s not bad to…” He carefully pulled his hand free and reached up to stroke Percy’s stubbled cheek with a gloved thumb. “That it’s not bad to want you. And I do. I, uh. I kind of had a crush on you, since the first time we met, so…think it’s pretty safe to say I do. Want you.”

“Really?” Percy tugged him in close, and Credence let out a little gasp of surprise as their bodies came together. Even through the layers of their coats, Percy was warm. And strong, and solid…Credence loved feeling Percy’s body against his, loved that even though Percy was a good inch or two shorter, his bulk made Credence feel  _ small. _

“Really,” he said breathlessly, and then they were leaning in close, and their lips were about to touch…

And Credence forgot they were on ice, and not exactly stable, and when a stray pair of hockey-skated teenagers shot by them, Percy went down hard and fell on his backside…and since they were still holding onto each other, Credence landed in his lap. For a moment they sat there together, an awkward tangle of limbs, their faces mere centimeters apart, eyes locked, their breath steaming each other’s lips. “Are you okay?” Percy asked after a moment.

“Yeah…you?”

“Yeah.” Percy wrapped both arms more securely around Credence, making absolutely no move to get up.

The only sensible thing to do, Credence thought, struck by how near Percy was and how incredibly good he smelled and how gently Percy held him, was to press his face into Percy’s neck. So that was just what he did, instinct driving him to get as close as possible, and the little punched-out  _ unh _ that Percy let out very nearly made Credence melt into a puddle right then and there.

“Credence,” Percy whispered, with more emotion packed into those two little syllables than should have been possible. His hand crept up and gently, possessively cupped the back of Credence’s neck. Credence felt the soft weave of Percy’s mittens, the firm press of cold fingers behind the cloth, and pleasure swept through him like a snowstorm. Pleasure, and a sudden, real need for  _ more. _

“Let’s go back to my place,” he offered, because suddenly he couldn’t bear the thought of Percy leaving his side. “For coffee, and to like. Warm up. And stuff.”

“And stuff? On the first date? You think I’m that kinda guy?” Percy teased, but his voice was quivering too and Credence felt the way his arms tightened, almost imperceptibly, as if Percy were afraid to let him go too.

_ If he doesn’t let go, _ he thought, closing his eyes to savor the last few moments they had before he had to untangle them and lead Percy back to the car,  _ I’m going to propose marriage on the first date. _

~

They got take-out from Percy’s favorite Mexican restaurant (the look in his eyes when Credence said they could—like a child being offered a real treat—made Credence’s heart skip a beat) and went back to Credence’s place, a little cozy brick house on a quiet street. Credence had to laugh when he saw the surprise on Percy’s face. “Yeah. Hardly the mansion people expect when they hear ‘chief executive officer.’ And no, it did not come with a butler.”

“Well, damn. That was going to be my next question,” Percy teased him. “No gardener, either? Not even a maid?”

“God, no,” Credence shuddered. “I’m a grown man, I can do my own laundry and mow my own lawn, thanks.”

They settled down in a blanket-nest on the couch with their puffy tacos and thick, cheesy enchiladas and pretended to watch an episode of  _ Gilmore Girls, _ while really they just snuck looks at each other. After they ate Credence made hot chocolate and, with the TV completely muted, they sat on the couch facing each other, bundled up in blankets with a fire in the woodstove and snow steadily piling up outside. It was sweet, and cozy, and Credence didn’t want it to end. 

Two hot chocolates in they were so close their mugs clinked when they tried to drink at the same time. Any closer and their foreheads would touch…and Credence found himself staring at Percy’s mouth with more and more abandon, unable to keep from hoping that the almost-kiss from the ice rink would repeat, and maybe go a little further this time…

“All right, confession time,” Percy said suddenly, putting his mug on the coffee table and drawing his knees up to his chest, nestling down in the blankets like a kid. “When you got that first big paycheck, what was the crazy thing you bought with it? There had to be something.”

Credence had to laugh. “Uh. Well. You’re sitting in it,” he admitted sheepishly. “I’d only ever lived in apartments before, so…”

Percy looked a little startled. “Wait, what? You bought a house? Really? Not, like, a convertible or a…God, I don’t know, a timeshare at Disneyland or something?”

“Disneyland doesn’t do time shares,” Credence giggled. “But, yeah. I wanted my own place.”

“God, I thought this was…I don’t know. A family house or something.”

“Really? I thought I told you I grew up in New York.”

“Oh, yeah but I thought…I don’t know.” Percy shrugged and shyly lowered his eyes. “Maybe it was like, your mom’s place before she came to New York and it just sat here…”

“Oh, God no,” Credence said emphatically with a firm shake of his head. “We only ever had apartments…most of which we could barely afford.”

“You went to private school!”

“On scholarship,” Credence protested. “I had absolutely no money, seriously, I had to get an after-school job just to cover my own food.” He shook his head again and sighed, suddenly feeling a little melancholy. “Percy, be honest. If someone handed you a check for $100,000, what would be your first thought?”

Percy stared moodily at their hot chocolate mugs for a moment, before he cleared his throat and said softly, “Probably would pay off my student loans first. Then if there was enough left over I’d…hell, I’d probably get myself someplace better to live too. Nicer apartment, maybe.”

Credence nodded and reached for Percy’s hand, gave it a little squeeze. “Neither of us were born in a good spot, were we,” he said gently, and Percy’s head snapped up, his eyes radiating both sympathy and relief. “You know why I was so shy about asking you out? I thought—I thought maybe you’d think I took the easy way out, leaving college to run my business. Because you went back to school and…”

He trailed off. But Percy’s hands were cupping his face now, fingertips meeting at the back of his neck (Credence felt a little thrill run down his spine, the back of his neck was so sensitive and Percy’s hands were so  _ soft), _ and he looked at Credence with warm, genuine understanding. “But you didn’t take the easy way out,” he said gently, “you just felt like you needed to snatch an opportunity when it knocked…oh, sweetheart. I’d have done the same thing if I were you. I don’t think less of you for leaving college to start your career. Not for a minute.”

“But you went back—”

“And you can too, love. Someday, if it’s what you want, if running your dog website doesn’t do it for you anymore, you could go back too and I have no doubt you would, if you wanted to.” He paused for the briefest moment and then drew Credence into his lap. “Is this all right?”

“More than all right.” Credence nestled against Percy happily and tucked his head into the crook of Percy’s warm neck. “Ohhh. You’re so  _ soft,” _ he sighed.

“Mmm…that’s a good thing?” Percy wrapped both arms around Credence protectively. “You don’t mind…” He trailed off, cleared his throat and finished, “The, uh. Softness. It’s good?”

Credence realized quickly what Percy was talking about and made a point of snuggling even closer to him, pressing his face against Percy’s skin and inhaling deeply. “You’re perfect,” he assured Percy. “You smell so good…and you’re so warm…” Very warm, in fact. Impulsively, Credence slipped his hands under the hem of Percy’s sweater to touch the skin underneath.

Percy yelped, and Credence instinctively started to pull back, apologies ready on his lips, only for Percy to hold him with one arm and, with the other, seize a handful of blanket and wrap him up tight. “You’re freezing! Sweetheart, why didn’t you tell me you were cold?”—and then Credence was suddenly held close against Percy’s chest like a baby, wrapped up in the fleecy blankets and melting into Percy’s arms, surrounded by softness and warmth and  _ oh this was just too good, _ it almost wasn’t fair, he half-expected to wake up from a dream and find himself in a lonely hotel bed in L.A. again.

“Percy,” he murmured into that deliciously warm neck, “I don’t want you to go.”

Percy hummed softly in reply. “Do you want me to stay? With you? Tonight, I mean?” he offered tentatively, as if testing the parameters of just how sincere Credence was.

Credence lifted his face out of Percy’s neck and carefully pried one of his hands out from under the nest of blankets so he could cup Percy’s cheek in his palm. Percy’s skin was warm and rough with stubble, and his cheek was soft and full and just the right size to fit in Credence’s hand. “I don’t want you to go,” he repeated.

Percy looked at him through shining, hopeful eyes. “You know,” he said in a voice barely above a whisper, “you said you were afraid to ask me out…Cree, love,  _ I _ was afraid to ask  _ you… _ I was so sure you could never want someone old and… _ soft.” _

“I’ve had enough ‘hard’ in my life, I think.” Credence drew Percy’s face close to his and rested their foreheads together. “I love soft things. Soft people.” He cupped his hand around Percy’s neck, stroking the sensitive skin at the base of Percy’s head with his fingertips, drawing a soft sigh of pleasure that went straight to his core. “I want you to hold me, just like this, all night,” he whispered, his breath caressing Percy’s lips.

Percy’s grip on him became tighter, more needy, and his voice was low and raw when he said, “I’ll hold you as long as you want, sweetheart.”

There was more to be said, of course, but at the moment they were too busy kissing like they’d never have the chance again.

~

Credence had waited so long to make a move, let his crush on Percy build and twist and spiral into something heady and almost frantic, that by the time they actually got into bed together it felt more like the climax of a romantic movie than the simple, intimate thing it really was.

They made love. There was really no other way to say it. The tenderness with which they touched each other was unmatched, like absolutely nothing Credence had ever experienced before. And he  _ did _ have experience; after all, what was a young and anxious gay boy to do when finally liberated from his mother’s tyranny? He’d had his college fumblings like anyone else, and shared a few short, unromantic flings with men on various business trips. But it was all purely physical. All shallow contact, just the excitement and novelty of another’s hands on his skin.

But this.  _ This _ was different, because it wasn’t some random cute guy, it was Percy, Credence’s Percy. Percy, soft and warm and deliciously, hypnotically responsive, laid out like a prize to be taken in his bed. Percy, vulnerable to Credence’s touch and willing to touch him as much as he asked in return, ready to take the lead if asked but willing to surrender if that was what Credence really wanted. Percy, malleable and gentle. Adaptable, but dependable.  _ Percy, _ the secret crush who had somehow become one true love.

He was self-conscious about his weight, about the soft curves of his belly and his ass and his thighs, and he made self-deprecating comments until Credence rolled them over and pinned him to the bed and kissed him just to shut him up.  _ Don’t talk about the man I love like that, _ Credence whispered into his skin, kissing every part that Percy had just called ugly. He kissed the stretch marks of Percy’s soft, full belly, kissed the strong smooth thighs, the round swells of Percy’s hips.  _ I love every part of you, _ he murmured.  _ You are so beautiful I can’t stand it. Please never talk about yourself that way again, I hate it. _

And Credence found other ways to demonstrate, too, that Percy’s body was just perfect the way it was. He discovered, very quickly and pleasurably, that he loved to feel Percy on top of him, that Percy’s bulk made him feel safe and secure, that he loved to wrap his long legs around Percy’s waist and hold him close as they made love. And he found that he loved in equal measure when Percy curled protectively around him after they were done, holding him close against that strong chest and stroking his hair with a gentle hand.

“I love you,” Percy said, his voice uncertain, as if he weren’t sure he were really allowed to say such a tender thing without repercussion.

Credence pressed his face into Percy’s chest and didn’t bother fighting back his tears of joy. “I love you too.”

Maybe it was too soon. But of course, neither one of them cared.

~

Credence lay with his head on Percy’s chest, one fleshy arm wrapped firmly around his slim shoulders as he stroked Percy’s belly. “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of touching you,” he said a little wistfully. “I wish I could take you with me when I travel again.”

“I wish that too, honestly.” Percy laughed a little as he pressed a kiss to Credence’s forehead. “God, we could’ve been doing this the whole time, couldn’t we, if I’d just said something.”

“Hey, I could’ve said something sooner too…I wanted to ask you out the first day,” Credence admitted. “I just was too afraid…I thought,  _ no way could he ever like me.” _

Percy laughed again and squeezed his shoulders. “Well, funny story love…I was thinking the same thing.”

“So what you’re saying is, we’re both idiots,” Credence jokingly translated, and they both giggled like kids.

“Well, at least you’re a beautiful idiot,” Percy teased Credence when they’d recovered. “Look at you. God, you’re a walking wet dream. How’d I get you into bed, hmm?”

“Oh, don’t start that again.” Credence squeezed a palmful of Percy’s soft belly, shooting a meaningful look at Percy through his eyelashes. “You’re hot and I will accept no arguments to the contrary.”

Percy huffed in exasperation. “Oh yeah. Real charmer I am, middle-aged and paunchy. Can’t imagine why I was still single on Valentine’s Day, can you?”

“I really can’t,” Credence said candidly, “because you  _ are _ a catch. What do I have to do to convince you…” He kissed Percy’s chest, right over his beating heart. “That you are absolutely everything I want?”

Percy went quiet for a moment, and then said slowly, “I think, maybe, you could just give me a little time to catch up…I feel like I just got everything  _ I _ want handed to me all at once. Let me have a little time to realize I’m not dreaming, sweetheart. You’re…you really  _ are… _ what I’ve been waiting for.”

“Right back at you.”

Credence wanted to stay awake all night and relish the sensation of being held in Percy’s soft, warm, strong arms. But being held so protectively yet so tenderly felt  _ so good, _ and he was full from their heavy dinner and pleasantly worn-out from their lovemaking, and it didn’t take long for his eyelids to grow heavy as the steady thrum of Percy’s heartbeat lulled him into a state of perfect relaxation.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” he murmured sleepily, and then drifted off with Percy’s quiet laughter ringing in his ears.

~

When Credence lived in New York, mornings were not something to look forward to. Mornings meant pain, another day he had to face a mother who hated him and a school full of people who thought he was going to hell just for existing. Even now, when those days were far behind him, he still had that moment of  _ oh no _ when he first awoke, the brief flash of nausea and fear before he realized it was all right, he was safe now, no one here to drag him out of bed and start his morning with a beating that was supposed to help him “repent.”

Now mornings were all softness, a slow gentle awakening in a bed that he’d specifically engineered to be welcoming: soft microfiber sheets, fluffy down comforter, at least a half-dozen pillows, all the pillow-pets and teddy bears he had been denied as a child. Soft, soft,  _ soft. _ Welcoming and warm and just right for him.

And this morning, there was something even better: he woke not with his head on a pillow and his arm around a giant plush unicorn, but in the arms of the beautiful and kind man with whom he’d been in love for months.

Percy’s chest moved slowly under Credence’s head, a steady rise and fall that Credence found deeply calming. He closed his eyes almost as soon as he opened them and curled closer around Percy’s pillow-soft body, basking in the warmth and pleasure of being held so gently in such a strong man’s arms. “Good morning,” he whispered into the crook of Percy’s neck, and then, “Am I dreaming? Please tell me I’m not dreaming.”

“Definitely not,” came the low, comforting rumble in reply. Percy squeezed him a little tighter just for a moment, then relaxed and reached up to stroke Credence’s back. If he minded the scars, he didn’t show it for a second. “I’m here. I’m real, and so are you. And after I’ve cuddled you as long as we both feel like it, I’m going to make you a delicious breakfast, and then you have to go to work and I have to go to class, but…”

Credence propped himself up a little so he could see Percy, could see the way his eyes were still a little heavy with sleep, his long hair mussed, his face a little flushed. Percy was never not going to be lovely, he decided, reaching out and tracing the curve of Percy’s cheek with his fingertips. “But when we’re done,” he said, unable to hold back the longing in his voice, “you’re going to let me take you to dinner again. And we’re going to come back here after, or back to your place, and we’re going to…to be together.”

“Always,” Percy promised with a tender smile, reaching up to brush Credence’s bangs out of his eyes.

And then he rolled them over and pinned Credence underneath him, and bestowed upon him a deliciously messy kiss that made Credence feel weak with pleasure, and…okay. Yeah. Breakfast could wait, Credence decided, plunging his fingers through Percy’s thick hair and pulling him in impossibly close.

Everything else could wait. Credence had waited long enough for Percy, and he was going to enjoy every minute now that he had his heart’s desire.

**Author's Note:**

> Like Gradence, Colin, Ezra, Fantastic Beasts in general? Come geek out with me on Twitter and/or Tumblr @CupcakeFoggy :D


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